Digimon: Critical Situation
by Ben Myatt
Summary: It begins on a september morning and a hostage situation in an Odaiba bank. but soon, for Detective Tai Kamiya and Operative Daisuke Motomiya, everything will go straight to hell. its good to be back.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I Do Not Own Digimon.

Critical situation.

By Ben Myatt.

09:00, Monday 12th september.

The man who walked into the Odaiba bank was the very definition of Generic. Dressed in a cheap suit, and carrying a battered briefcase, there was nothing about him that presented any kind of threat.

After patiently waiting in line, He walked up to the tellers counter, and placed the briefcase on the polished metal surface. The teller gave him a bored look.

"Can I help you sir?"

"Yes, you can. You can start by placing one-hundred thousand US dollars in unmarked bills in the briefcase."

She blinked.

"Do you have an account with us, sir?

He glared at her.

"You know, I don't think you're quite getting the picture here." he took his left hand out of his pocket. "The device I have in my hand here? That's connected to an explosive device currently wrapped around my torso."

The teller's eyes went as wide as saucers. The man in the cheap suit continued.

"Now, I'm sure you don't want to die today. I know that I don't. However, _Do not think I have ruled out the possibility."_

An alarm suddenly rang through the bank. The man sighed as iron bolts slid into place at the top and bottom of the front doors. He glance round at the frightened faces of the banks patrons.

"I was afraid this would happen. Ladies and gentlemen, as you may have already gathered, this is a bank robbery. At least it was. Unfortunately, since the manager over there," he gestured at a tall woman in a smart suit, "Decided to hit the alarms, it has now become a hostage situation."

He placed the detonator down on the counter top, and removed his jackets. Foil-wrapped packets of C4 Plastic explosive glinted in the morning light. From a holster underneath his arm, he withdrew a sig-sauer .45 automatic.

"When I pick this detonator up again, I will be arming the bomb you currently see. The detonator will then become a dead mans handle. If anything happens that causes me to release my grip on the detonator, the bomb will explode. Now..." He picked up the detonator, squeezed it until it clicked, and turned back to the Teller. "Madam, I gave you your instructions. Please fulfill them."

The Manager stood up.

"Listen, sir, I don't know how you think you're going to get out of this with that money, but you can still leave. If you disarm the bomb, I'll disengage the security locks and you can go..."

The man looked at her, with pity in his eyes.

"I appreciate the sentiment. I also appreciate your bravery. However, I have done my research. I know full well, that the locks can only be disengaged with police authorization at your head office and that you have done absolutely all you can in this situation. I also know that the Odaiba police are on their way, as well as a more... specialist group. As I have said, I appreciate your attempt at Heroism. What I do not appreciate is being lied to."

His right arm snapped up, and the sig-sauer spoke twice.

***

09:20, Monday 12th September.

The black van thundered down the street, weaving in and out of the traffic. Inside, the squad sergeant looked through the windshield, and swore.

"Where did all this traffic spring up from?"

Ian Reynolds glanced back at him for a split second.

"Rush hour sarge. The ground cops haven't had a chance to clear the route yet."

"Goddammit. See if you can push through. Don't use the siren unless you have to. Low profile, remember."

The Sergeant turned to the group.

"Okay boys, this is what we've trained for. We have one hostile, and approximately twenty hostages. The hostile made contact with police via a time-released email, and is known to have a strapped bomb on his chest. Intel suggests C4 or Semtex. Suggestions?"

Ryuhei Suzuwara was he first to speak.

"What chance would a frontal assault have?"

"Little to none. The Banks gone into security lockdown, and turning it off would be letting the guy know we're coming."

"How about a breach entry, or rappelling?" Nicholas Jenson queried.

"Too risky. If this guy decides we're coming in, or panics, then we'll probably lose all thirty hostages plus the breach team."

The sergeant glanced towards the rear of the van. A young man sat there, headphones covering his ears. His eyes were closed as he leaned back against the wall.

"You listening, Lad?"

Daisuke 'Davis' Motomiya grinned to himself, and slid the headphones down around his neck.

"I reckon we need to bait him to the roof, sarge. I've just been listening to the police frequency – the guy knows we're coming. According to the remote CCTV footage, his exact words were that he expected the rival of a 'more specialist team.'" he flexed his neck, and shrugged. "If he knows who we are, its probably a safe bet that he's familiar with our operational tactics. So I reckon we need to try something a bit new."

"Well, its nice to see that your brain isn't completely turned off Davis. Right Gents, working with Davis's theory, what do we reckon?"

Davis's grin broadened.

"Well, boss, I've got a bit of idea..."

***

09:23, Monday 12th September.

The van screeched into the street, and moved smoothly past the police barriers and into the operations area. Inside the bank, Bomber and Hostages watched as several masked men stepped out into the sunlight. Heckler and Koch MP5 submachine guns were slung from their shoulders as they swiftly moved to the police Scene of Crime Van on the far pavement.

Sergeant Mills and his four cohorts filed into the operations van.

"Critical Situations Investigations Team reporting in. Who's the SOCO (Scene of Crime Officer) here?"

A Young Plain Clothes detective turned away from the table and nodded in response.

"That would be me."

"Tai?" Davis exclaimed.

Taichi Kamiya started for a second, then grinned.

"Davis. Long time no see."

"About five years, as I recall."

"And no contact."

Davis glanced at the other members of the team.

"Its been... complicated."

"Looks it. We'll catch up later."

The Sergeant grinned.

"Assuming there is a later."

Tai grinned wryly.

"We're working on trying to talk to the guy for now. He demanded no negotiators.. We do know that he has killed one hostage – the bank manager."

"Not good. Will we be going in yet?"

Tai shook his head.

"Not for now. Like I said, contact is still early. That said, I get the impression the guy is stalling for some reason. I know Odaiba hasn't had to call on CSIT before, but I'm glad you guys are in backup."

Jensen and Suzuwara shared a glance and grinned.

"Pleased to be here. Wheres the pub?"

the sergeant rolled his eyes.

"Right, thats enough of that. Reynolds, Suzuwara. You're on sniper detail. Get moving. Davis, Jensen, get kitted up for takedown. Flashbangs only. I'd rather the only explosions today were controlled and set off by us. Move."

The four operatives headed for their van. Tai turned to the sergeant.

"You already got a plan?"

"Davis came up with something on the way over. How long have you know him?"

"A long time. Digidestined stick together, you know?"

"Oh aye. We didn't have time to pick up Veemon for this little jaunt. He normally runs our Comms."

Tai blinked.

"You mean he's actually useful for something?"

***

09:50, Monday 12th September.

The bomber holstered his gun as the cell phone in his breast pocket began to ring. Holding onto dead mans handle, he pressed the answer button. Clicking on the speaker, he returned the phone to his pocket and retrieved the weapon.

"Speak."

"Am I talking to the hostage taker inside the bank?"

"You are?"

"My name is Detective Taichi Kamiya. I've been assigned as your police contact for this situation. As you requested in your message package, no negotiators have been brought in. what are your demands?"

"Straight to the point detective. I like that." The bomber replied. "As for my demands, they are simple. As you may have noticed, this operation has gone from a simple bank robbery to a hostage situation. Whilst I was originally going to take a paltry one hundred thousand dollars, I now wish for that amount of money to be released to me by the cities ransom fund. Thats per hostage, by the way. By my estimates, that comes to a cool three million."

"Duly noted. Anything else?"

"Of course. I also want transportation organised from the bank to the airport for myself and my hostages. At the airport, there will be a plane waiting for me. That plane will be taking me to a destination of my choosing. From there, the hostages will be released."

"I'm not sure how I'll be able to do that."

The bomber closed his eyes briefly.

"Detective Kamiya, please don't insult my intelligence. I am fully aware of the cities protocols in the event of a situation like this. Say Hello to the CSIT team for me."

A cold silence followed down the line.

"Anyways. Since I know you aren't a negotiator I expect your complete obedience at all times. I'm also going to prove to you just how serious I am about this little venture."

"You don't need to do that."

"Oh, but I do."

He glanced round the room, and picked out a young man.

"You. Up by the front door."

The young man stood, shaking, and walked to the glass pane, hands held above his head.

***

09:53, Monday 12th September.

Through the scope of his PSG-1 Sniper rifle, Ryuhei Suzuwara spotted the hostage first.

"Rifle-1, Hostage in sight. Orders?"

"Hold fire, Rifle-1."

"Roger."

Next to him, Reynolds peered through his binoculars at the door, using the small, invisible laser to gauge the distance between them and the target.

"What do you reckon, Ryu?"

"Don't know. I've got a bad feeling about this."

A second man, his body wrapped in explosives, appeared in the doorframe.

"Rifle-1, tango in sight. Permission to fire."

"Do not engage, rifle-1. Tango is using failsafe device."

Reynolds shift his binoculars, and focused on the bombers hand. The mans grip on the explosive switch betrayed his intentions.

"Roger, Command."

As the two operatives watched, the bomber put his gun to the hostages head.

***

09:54, Monday 12th September.

"Now, detective Kamiya. You will see how serious I am."

The bomber pulled the trigger. The young man dropped to the floor, leaving a blooming red flow of blood on the window.

"I am not afraid to mess around, Kamiya, and I am not afraid to kill. I expect your answers shortly. End call."

The voice chip picked up the cold voice, and disconnected the line.

***

"Sunnovabitch!" Tai swore.

Davis glanced across the table at the Detective.

"Tai, we're gonna need a helicopter."

Tai's eyes snapped up.

"What for?"

"Our takedown plan. This is CSIT's operation now."

* * *

(A/N)

Well, its certainly been a while. This is a story idea thats been bounding around in my head for a while, but since finding an archived version of "The remains of Twilight" - my "Davis as a soldier story" some of you might remember – and rereading both that and "Dragonflies in the mist", I've been meaning to work on something to help me recapture the more punchy, action packed writing style I was working with. This is that story.

Its gonna be a long one too. I suppose you've all figured out by now that "Final Resolution" and "shadows and flame" simply weren't gonna get written. The two stories that are going to be this one and its sequel will. Trust me. Theres going to be some very dark moments – I've got a hell of a surprise lined up – and a lot of fireteam/hostage rescue/strike team action.

Sorry this chapter got a little slack towards the end. I've been up late writing it. I'm hoping to get the next chapter up soon. At the very latest, it'll be within the next two weeks. I'm also working on a new original story in that time – a sci-fi novel.

I would really welcome discussion and chat about this story on my ffnet forum. All you have to do is click the link on my profile. Look forward to hearing from you.

-Ben


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

* * *

10:15, Monday 12th September.

"Rifle-1, this is Guard-1, require sitrep, over."

"Roger that Guard-1. All seems quiet up there. The front doors are tinted glass, so I'm not getting too clear a view, but it looks like the hostages are in two groups, dispersed around the Tango."

Tai glanced at Davis, who gave him a grim smile.

"He's protecting himself against a frontal assault. If we breached the doors, he could take out the lot of them, as well as the team." he shrugged. "Ah well. Its what we figured. Hows that helicopter coming along?"

Tai glanced at one of the other detectives, who nodded.

"It's been cleared. Should be in transit soon."

"Awesome."

"care to fill me in on what you're doing?"

"No."

Tai glared at his younger friend. Davis smiled.

"Its nothing personal. If you don't know, you cant give any inadvertent hints."

"Fair enough."

"Sarge?" Jenson spoke from a computer terminal. "Looks like we can reach the roof from the building behind."

"Best get moving then." The sergeant responded. "You and Davis head round. I'll have Rifle-1 Provide cover."

Davis and Jenson hefted their vest and MP5s, quickly buckling on their equipment. Davis grinned at Tai.

"Well, see you soon dude. Better get on the blower to the asshole in the bank."

* * *

10:20, Monday 12th September

The 'Asshole in the bank' as he was being colloquially called, was at that moment awaiting that very phonecall. Through the window he could see the police milling about in abject confusion.

He reveled in it. The chaos caused by his demands, and the execution of the young hostage, thrilled him to the very core.

The phone in his pocket rang.

"Answer."

the line opened, and Taichi Kamiya's voice came over.

"Okay, sir, I'm afraid we're going to have to compromise."

"I'm not in a compromising mood, detective."

"This is purely logistical. We haven't got the means at hand to transport that many people to he airport."

"Keep talking."

"We have, however, managed to arrange a helicopter for you. Its a Bell 205, with a pilot and copilot. It has a six passenger capacity."

"This is acceptable. I will be picking 5 hostages to accompany me."

"Alright."

"And the Pilot and Co-Pilot will become hostages at the end of the trip."

"Thats not acceptable."

"Its not like you have a choice."

"You cant have the Pilots."

"I still don't think you understand the situation, Detective."

He seized a young woman by the hair, and dragged her to the door. Drawing the Sig-Sauer, he held it to her head.

"I think you need another object lesson detective."

"No! You can have the Pilots!"

"I thought you'd see it my way. How long will it take for the helicopter to get here?"

"About five minutes."

"I'll be moving to the roof now. I advise you not to remove the lockdown on the Bank until I'm on board the helicopter. The consequences would be dire. End Call."

The phone cut off, and the Bomber turned to the huddled hostages. He pointed the sig-sauer at some of the group.

"You guys, follow me. We're going on a little trip."

* * *

10:22, Monday 12th September.

Tai turned to the sergeant.

"He's heading to the roof. I hope you guys know what you're doing."

"We can always hope."

Tai glared at him.

"Thats not really what I want to hear."

"Theres always a little margin of error in Takedowns. Davis is pretty good though."

"How good."

"About as a good a shot as you get. He's still got a lot to learn about planning subtlety though."

"Joy forever fucking unconfined. Lemme know when it goes down."

* * *

10:25, Monday 12th September.

The door burst open, and Davis and Jensen moved swiftly into the stairwell, MP5s held at the ready.

"Clear."

"Clear."

Davis glanced at the stairs.

"How may floors?"

"six."

"Does the bank have a service elevator?"

"Yup."

"Lets get moving then."

"Roger that."

They moved towards the stairs, taking them two at a time. Davis pressed the transmit on his radio.

"CSIT-1 to MU. Whats the status on the hostages and the chopper?"

"Hostages and the bomber are heading for the elevator. Chopper is due to arrive in three minutes."

"Got it. Operation commencing. Rifle-1, notify me when the hostages exit the elevator."

"Roger."

They reached the door, and stopped.

"Status report."

"Roof is clear."

"Roger. Moving to position."

Quietly, the pair moved through the door. Davis drew a spray can from his belt and clipped it onto his webbing. The operatives moved to stand behind the elevator stack.

"CSIT-1, in position."

"Roger. Hostages are in the elevator. Moving upwards."

The pair heard the dull whir as the elevator motor rolled into life. Thirty seconds later they heard the muffled ping as the doors began to open.

"Alright. All of you move." came the harsh voice of the bomber. Davis glanced at Jensen and nodded. Stealthily, the pair moved around the stack. The bomber was at the back of the group covering them with his Automatic. Davis crept up behind him, whilst Jensen indicated for the hostages to remain silent.

One of the hostages began to speak.

"What are you going to do with us?"

Davis smiled. The quick thinking young woman was distracting the bomber, drawing his attention to her. It was risky, but it seemed to be working.

"Did I say you could speak?"

"I want to know."

"I haven't decided yet. I've told the police I'll let you go, but if you don't shut up, maybe I'll just drop you out the plane somewhere over the pacific. Do you want to take the chance?"

Davis unhooked the spray can with his left hand, and securely clutched clutched his MP5s pistol grip in his right hand, his finger on the trigger. The safety was set to three round burst – just in case. His eyes quickly flicked over bombers back as small module blinked with a green light. Two wires led from the pack to the detonator in the mans hand.

He took a deep breath. When he'd done the bomb disposal course, the Instructor hadn't covered techniques to deal with defusing a bomb that was physically attached to someone. Improvisation made Davis nervous, and a thousand things that could go wrong sped through his mind as he committed to the move.

Fast as lightning, Davis's hand swept out and pressed the spray can activator. Compressed liquid nitrogen coated the detonator circuit, freezing it to the core. The green light blinked once more, then died to inky blackness.

The man turned to him, a Bomber no longer. The sig-sauer came up...

Davis was faster. His hand clamped on the Criminal's shoulder, whilst his leg moved underneath him, sweeping behind the mans ankle he pushed forward, slamming the criminal to the floor. The Man's Sig-Sauer clattered to the floor, and Jensen kicked it away to the edge of the roof. Davis wrapped his hand on the foregrip of his Mp5, and brought the stock to his shoulder.

"Freeze, motherfucker!"

The former bomber froze. Jensen swept his own rifle over the hostages.

"All of you down on the floor, face down, hands on your heads. Now."

"But..."

"Its procedure. On the floor!"

The hostages lay on their stomachs, and clasped their hands on the backs of their heads. Jensen turned to his partner. Davis had his combat knife out, and was cutting the Velcro straps on the side of the bombers vest. Gently, he moved the tightly packed explosives over to the side, and cuffed the man. He hauled the bomber to his feet.

"You have the right to remain silent you have the right to blah-de-blah-de-blah, move or I'll shoot your ass."

Jensen grinned, and grabbed the mans other arm. The bomber smiled.

"You two assholes don't get it do you?"

"Did I say you could speak?" Davis snarled.

"What do I care?"

"Please, give me an excuse to shoot you."

"I'm not the one behind this. I've been set up."

"You mean you weren't the one with the explosives strapped to you and the automatic pistol?"

"Very droll. I was commissioned to do this job."

"Right."

"Okay then, ask yourself this; If I had such detailed knowledge of the security setup – right down to CSIT's Involvement – why did I let myself get put in a situation where I couldn't get out except with hostages?"

Davis and Jensen glanced at each other, troubled looks on their faces. Suddenly, the radio crackled.

"Rifle-1 to CSIT-1, situation report."

"Takedown complete. Tango in custody, hostages ready for debrief."

"Roger that. We have you in site. Chopper inbound to take custody."

"Roger."

Davis glanced at the bomber. The bomber had a half smile on his face as he stared towards the tall buildings opposite. He opened his mouth as if to speak, and the back of head dissolved into a fine red spray, spattering across Davis's face. A split second later two more holes appeared in the bombers chest, and he slumped to the ground as the two operatives dived to the ground.

"Rifle-1, cease fire!"

"Its not me! I haven't fired a single shot!"

Davis and Jensen swept their sights across nearby buildings, searching for the gunman. They saw nothing. Standing, they moved over to the fallen suspect.

"What the hell is going on up there, CSIT-1?" the radio crackled.

The two policemen glanced at each other.

"Hell if I know, sarge." Davis replied.

* * *

A/N:

Wow, two chapters in and I'm already fucking up my deadlines! If its any consolation, I have a pretty good excuse. I started a new job and have had to re-adapt to working 9-5. unfortunately, this hasn't left me with much time to write.

I should also apologise for the piss poor quality of this chapter. I hope the visual I magery it invokes is better than the quality of the words. If any of you are wondering about the move Davis uses to subdue the bomber then... well... you need to get a life really. Its something akin to an STO leg sweep take down, but using more of a spin to allow the performer to use only one hand. Theres going to be a few fight scenes in this book, and unlike the more flashy fight scenes of previous stories, they're going to be based around realistic moves. If you're interested in the fighting styles, look up some Mixed Martial Arts fights on MMALinker . Com or look up MMA slams on youtube to get an idea. A lot of the moves will also based on the CQC fighting system used by the US army and made famous by metal gear solid three.

In case you haven't guessed, the authors notes for this story are going to feature a lot more about my writing process and research. People have asked me about both of these In the past, so I'm kind of keeping a running record for the fic. Feel free to start any discussions on my FFNet forum. All you have to do is click the link in my profile. I WILL RESPOND TO QUESTIONS. Hell, if you ask a question in my reviews, I'll respond to it there.

I'll try and get the next chapter up in fairly short order. Now that the intial operation is out of the way, the larger plot is going to come into play.

See you all soon.

-Ben Myatt.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

* * *

"The first thing I want to know is: What the fuck happened up there?" The Superintendent asked.

Tai, Davis and the Sergeant glanced at each other.

"Honestly sir, we don't know." the sergeant said. "The operation went down smoothly, with no fatalities. The suspect was in custody and we were just waiting for the pickup."

"And your sniper got an itchy trigger finger?" The Super accused.

"No sir. All of Rifle-1's rounds were accounted for. He hadn't fired a single shot."

"Do you have the evidence to back that up, sergeant?"

"We do. Tai?"

Tai nodded, and hefted a forensics report onto the table. Flipping the binder open, he thumbed through to the ballistics report.

"Okay, boss, heres what we have for evidence. The CSIT team was using PSG-1 sniper rifles; semi-automatic, with a free floating barrel. But most significantly, it fires 7.62 caliber rounds."

He passed a photo to the superintendent, who glanced at it. It showed a warped, misshapen bullet.

"Thats the round we fished out of the wall behind the suspect. The autopsy team is still looking for the other one – the body is a bit of a mess, I'm afraid. It's a .50 caliber BMG round."

"Thats a start." The super said. "And theres no chance it could have come from the CSIT teams rifles?"

"It wouldn't even fit in the breach. Theres only a handful of sniper rifles chambered for this round in the world. The fact that the two rounds were fired in quick succession narrows it down even further. I can count the number of 50 cal rifles in Japan on two hands. We can find this gun, boss."

"Thats something at least." The superintendent slumped into his chair. "The problem is, I have to go and spin this to the public. All they're going to see is the monumental fuck-up of us losing our suspect." He arched his hands on the desk. "I'm going to have to give them a sacrifice."

The sergeant grinned.

"Alright boss. I can see where this is going. I presume I'm taking an early retirement?"

"Sorry, John. My hands are tied. This is coming from higher up even than me – as commander of the operation, they're placing the responsibility on your shoulders."

"Fucking figures."

"The only thing left to do is name your replacement."

"I figured that was the only reason Davis was here."

Davis, who had been daydreaming, came to with a start.

"What? Oh, no. _Balls_ no. No fucking way."

Tai smirked.

"How about you accept your promotion with good grace, Davis?"

"How about you drink a big tall glass of shut-the-fuck-up?"

"Enough, the pair of you." The superintendent snapped.

"Sorry, sir. Renewing an old friendship."

"Do it on your own time. Davis, we're going to need to restructure the CSIT team. You've all been trained in criminal investigation work As well as assault work, but you're going to need more people as dedicated investigators."

"I want Tai as one."

"You've got it. Any others?"

"Not from me. I don't know the department. Tai, can you get some guys who are good for legwork?"

"Easily."

"Okay then. We're gonna need facilities."

"Your budgets open. We've got a secure warehouse in the business district. Use that."

"Fine. I''m still not happy about this."

"You don't have to be. You just have to get the results. We can't afford anymore screwups."

* * *

"So, where are you heading from here?" Tai asked as He and Davis left the police headquarters.

"Dunno. Figured I'd go home, grab a shower and some food, maybe drink myself to sleep while watching football reruns."

"Cancel those plans. You just got promoted - you need to celebrate."

"I don't really feel like celebrating Tai. I got promoted because my boss had to take a fall."

"That, and you're damn good at the job. No-one else would have thought of a takedown like that, never mind actually taking the guy alive."

"For all the good it did."

"Like I said, we can track down the rifle. As soon as we figure out where he shot from..."

"Thats the problem, Tai. He used a fifty cal. An exceptionally good sniper can hit a target from over a kilo away with one of those."

"...I didn't know that."

"On top of that, the round we have is pretty mangled. Unless we can find the second one – and to be honest, I'd like a round casing for good measure as well – then we be proper fucked."

"All the more reason to celebrate while we can. First rounds on me."

"...Goddammit, fine. I'll be at Liam's around eight."

"...you know the rest of the gangs gonna be there right?"

"Inevitably."

* * *

The front door of Davis's apartment opened with a clatter, spilling discarded magazines and beer bottles across the floor.

"Veemon? You in here buddy?"

"Where the hell else did you think I'd be?" came the Digimon's voice from the lounge. Davis strolled through, slinging his car keys onto the table.

"I figured you'd be out snorting lines of cocaine off of the taut midriffs of the local strippers."

"...How did you get my morning itinerary?"

Davis laughed, and moved to the closet. He pulled his webbing from his tote bag and hung I up carefully. He pulled a battered leather jacket off of a coat hanger, and slung it over the back of the sofa, before removing his shoulder holster, with its 9mm Glock pistol still attached. Veemon watched as Davis stared at the reflection in the mirror above the mantlepiece, and took the gun into his hand. He ejected the clip, and laid it down on the table. Finally, he worked the slide, and ejected the final bullet in the breach.

"So, how did the day go?" Veemon asked.

Davis arm snapped up, and the Glock flew across the room to slam against the mirror. Veemon watched the glass shatter and tumble to the floor. He sighed, walked through to the kitchen, and pulled a beer out of the fridge. Walking back into the lounge, he passed the can to an unseeing Davis. The police officer popped the tab, and raised the can to his lips.

He didn't stop until the final drop was drained from the can.

* * *

Liam's bar was full of people as the quiet, brown haired police officer stepped in, Demi-veemon perched on his shoulder. The comforting weight of the Glock underneath his jacket pressed against the side of his chest in the crowd. Davis gritted his teeth, and moved towards the bar. Liam Dillon turned towards him, and raised an eyebrow.

"Evening stranger."

"Liam. Long time no see."

"Aye, that it is, lad. I presume you have your reasons?"

"Not really."

"Fair enough. Carlsberg?"

"Guinness. I need something to settle my stomach."

Liam grinned slightly, and poured the drink. The smooth black ale glinted in the backlight as he passed it to the policeman. Davis took the drink, and sipped it with obvious pleasure.

"Any of the other guys here yet?"

"Other guys?"

"The digidestined."

"Not yet. You're a little early."

"Suits me just fine."

Liam glanced at Demi-Veemon, who shrugged.

"Are you alright Davis?"

"Yeah. Just fine."

The Big Irishman reached over and gruffly patted him on the shoulder. Davis looked up from his drink.

"I've been there. It passes."

"Thanks. I just need to get through it."

"No worries. This lot should be clearing out soon – they'll be moving onto the club up the road by eight."

Liam;s prediction came true as in dribs and drabs, the bar began to empty, the crowds leaving to find entertainment elsewhere. Davis took his pint and moved towards one of the booths. As he settled in, the door swung open, and Tai walked in. accompanying him was a woman Davis hadn't seen in years. Her shoulder-length brow hair was cut just the right side of professional, and the trouser suit she wore showed off the graceful curves of her figure as she moved through to the bar. Despite telling himself he wouldn't allow it, Davis's breath caught in his throat.

He raised a hand in greeting and the pair walked over.

"Hello Davis." Kari said quietly.

* * *

(A/N)

Okay, for those of you keeping track, this makes it three chapters in a row with no real development in the plot!

I know this isn't the greatest of chapters, but as much as anything I'm experimenting with a couple of new styles in this story. One of those experiments is with limiting my perspectives. If you've been reading my stories for a while, you'll notice that I tend to use an omniscient perspective – I flick between the different characters at will. In this case, in order to preserve many of the surprises the story is actually going to have, I need to keep those perspectives limited to two or three – probably two, those of Davis and Tai Respectively. It was also an excuse to use some of the rather snarky one-liners I've been coming up with recently.

I know this chapter is far overdue, and I can only apologise for that. Unfortunately, I wouldn't want to give you any guarantees on when the next one will be posted as, y'know, I'm getting married in a week and a half. My wife to be wouldn't be very impressed if I took time out of the wedding schedule to write fanfiction at this point.

I'll try and get the next chapter up as soon as I've figured out what the hell is going to be in it.

-Ben


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4.

***********

"Hey Kari. Tai."

Kari glared at him and sat down. The ice cubes in her drink clinked against the side of the tumbler, catching the light from the ceiling, sending an exquisite rainbow along the cuts in the glass.

"Hey Kari? Is that all I get after five years of no contact?"

"Pretty much."

"You're still an asshole, you know that."

He grinned rakishly.

"Pretty much."

she glared at him helplessly, and burst out laughing. Davis leaned back, and sipped on his pint.

"If its any consolation, I really did mean to get in contact. Things have been a little hectic."

"So I heard. Learned some new tricks?"

"If you call being able to shoot a man through the left eyeball at one-hundred yards a trick."

She raised an eyebrow at the sound of discontent in his voice. He caught her eye, and changed the subject.

"So, what have you been up to. Since I've been away, I have no idea what the hells going on. Hows TK?"

She looked momentarily taken aback. Then she grinned.

"You really have been out of it. He's left Odaiba – he's over working in the UK for one of the broadsheets."

"I thought you and he..."

"Yeah, so did I. But its his career, so hey."

He sensed the pain in her voice, and backed away. He glanced at Tai.

"So,. Where are the rest of the guys?"

"Well, Sora's on her way over after work and Mimi's coming with her. The Rest of the guys are all around the place, so who knows when they'll come down."

"Real life sucks."

"Well, we cant all be on odd law-enforcement hours."

"A very valid point." He knocked back the rest of his pint, and started to roll a cigarette. "Of course things would be a damn sight easier if everyone were cops."

"Oh?" Kari asked.

"Yeah, they keep real detailed records on cops. Wouldn't get away with anything." he grinned. She rolled her eyes, and looked like she was about to say something when Sora and Mimi walked in.

Making their way to the bar, Sora waved, whilst Mimi leaned over to give Liam a kiss before ordering a drink. The girls made their way to the booth and slipped in next to Tai.

"Davis. Its been a while." Sora said.

"So they keep telling me."

"How've you been?"

"Busy. Yourselves?"

"Pretty much the same. What have you been up to?"

"Work, mainly. It had a fairly extensive training period."

They laughed, as he slipped out of the booth, and made his way to the bar. Kari walked along with him.

"So, what are you up to now?"

"Well, I just got promoted. To my eternal dismay."

"That wasnt what I asked."

"I know. And I really wish I could tell you."

***

The .50 caliber sniper rifle gleamed in the dull morning light as it sat on the table. The Gunman leaned back in his chair, and twirled the near six inch bullet casing between his fingers. He'd always taken the first casing from every job. He stood, and placed the casing with the long line of similar brass shells on the mantelpiece.

He'd made a good decision going with the semi automatic. The Bolt action was a little more precise, but there had been no guarantee that he'd have been able to get off that second shot before the CSIT team had reacted.

The buzzer on the intercom sounded. The Gunman stood, and slid a browning .45 into his belt against his spine, before he went over to the mouthpiece.

"Hello?"

"Its me. Let me In."

A Shiver went up the Gunman's spine. The Maestro, the genius behind the plan, had come to call. He buzzed the man in, and waited by the elevator.

The Lift ascended quickly, and shuddered to a stop as The Maestro stepped out of the carriage.

"Morning sunshine." Said The Maestro.

"Boss. You got the money?"

"Of course. An admirable job. The second shot was excellent."

The Gunman shrugged.

"Its what I do."

"Did you get the uplink in place?"

"Of course."

The Maestro smiled, and placed his briefcase on the table. Clicking it open, he revealed the $100,000 in unmarked bills that had been the previously agreed price. He took another wad out of his pocket and threw it negligently onto the pile in the briefcase.

"Bonus. For a job well done. Did you pick up all the evidence."

"Of course. All gunpowder traces scrubbed, all recoil skid marks removed. I couldn't find the second casing though. It probably went over the side with the recoil."

The Maestro turned, his eyes ice cold.

"You didn't find the second casing?"

"I Couldn't. I did a thorough sweep of the area, but no signs of it."

The Maestro thought for a moment, then shrugged.

"No Worries. Do you have any qualms with ditching the rifle? I know its a collectors piece, but if the police find that casing..."

"Of course. Do you want to do it, or shall I."

"I'll do it, I'm better at taking care of loose ends than you, apparently."

The Gunman grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry. Would you like a drink?"

"Of course."

The Gun man turned towards the bar on the countertop. He felt something sharp slide beneath his ribs. Wet Warmth spread across his side as he slid to the floor. He looked up at the Maestro as shock began the freeze his system. The Gunman tried to pull his gun, but the Maestro casually kicked it away as he wiped the blade of his knife.

"Why....?" The Gunman gasped.

"I told you. I'm good at cleaning up loose ends."

***

(A/N)

Look, Story Development!

There are several good reasons this chapter is late. The main one was y'know, the wedding. The other one is that I had to work my way towards where I was taking this story. One of my resolutions is shorter, snappier chapters.

Believe me when I say, I'm going to lose as many fans with this one as I'll gain. Enjoy.

And for the Takari fans, The Reason TK isn't in this is because a Takari/Daikari dynamic would take away from the story I'm trying to tell. If you don't like it, Tough shit.

-Ben.


	5. Chapter 5

The CSIT team ran up the stairs, silently checking every possible doorway and opening through the sights of their MP5s. The Apartment at the top of the converted factory building had been difficult to get to, down long corridors and through multiple stairwells. In short, it was the ideal hideaway for a rogue sniper with a very, very big gun.

The service elevator direct to the apartment had been ruled out long before their assault as being too much of a risk, as as Davis moved into position alongside Jensen. Reynolds crouched, covering the hallway behind them as Davis sprayed liquid explosive onto the door.

Moving back down the corridor, The CSIT team leader spoke quietly into his radio.

"Rifle-1, any movement?"

"Negative, Assault-1."

"Radio Traffic?"

"Negative." Veemon's voice crackled down the line. Davis glanced at Jensen.

"I don't like this."

"Me neither. But we aren't paid to like it."

"We're barely paid." Reynolds interjected.

"Okay." Davis glanced back round the corner at the door. "On my mark, Rifle-1, two rounds and we Breach and Flash."

The three members of the assault team leveled their SMGs at the door. Reynolds unhooked a flash-bang grenade from webbing.

"Three, Two One, Mark."

Davis pressed the detonator in his hand and Reynolds tossed the grenade into the room. The volatile mix of magnesium and ammonium percolate ignited filling the room with a bright burst of light and a deafening explosion. On the opposing rooftop, Suzuwara's PSG-1 spat two rounds in quick succession, shattering the apartment window. The Three members of the assault team rushed into the room, covering all angles.

"Room one, clear!" Davis reported. Reynolds moved to the bedroom, as Jensen kicked down the bathroom door.

"Room two clear!"

"Room three, clear!

Davis moved forward to the Kitchen, bracing himself for the shot. He kicked the door open.

The first thing he saw was the blood. It covered the kitchen table, the floor, and in some cases, it had spattered onto the walls. At the centre of this study in ruby lay Mitsubara Kamichi, the sniper from the bank. And the only reason Davis knew this was because whoever had killed him had helpfully left his face intact.

It was about the only thing that was intact.

"Goddammit." He toggled his radio over to Veemon. "You'd better get the forensics up here, Veemon. Our Snipers been murdered."

"Shit. Forensics in transit. Is the service elevator safe to use?"

"Lemme check."

Davis walked through the kitchen, carefully skirting around the drying blood to the elevator. He did a quick spot check for explosives, before using his handheld detector.

"Nothing doing. Send 'em up."

The service elevator rattled int life, and Davis walked across the room to the now shattered windows. Slinging his MP5 behind his back, he knelt and examined the floor. A handful of empty shell casings lay scattered, from the window's implosion.

"Don't touch them." Kari said from behind him as she stepped out of the elevator. Her forensics team spread through the room, taking photos and scraping samples from the gutted corpse.

"Oddly enough, I'm not a complete incompetent. They're fifty-cal. Any money on whether or not they're from our rifle?"

"I'm not a betting woman, Davis, especially not at those odds." She grinned.

He flashed a smile and walked to the Elevator.

"Assault team. RTB. Rifle-1, pack up and head home." He raised an eyebrow at Kari. "Have fun sweetie."

"Thanks." She said drily.

* * *

The warehouse was as good a base as any for the current generation of the CSIT team. Despite it's modest exterior, the inside contained the peak of policing and counter-terrorist technology. In fact, the only thing that spoiled the unobtrusive exterior was the Nissan 350Z sitting in front of it. As Davis got out of his battered jeep, he swore.

Walking through the warehouse door into the central hub, he put two fingers in his mouth and let loose a shrill whistle. All the people in the building stopped and turned to look at their commanding officer with trepidation in their eyes.

"Whose is that three-fifty out there?"

Tai sheepishly put his hand up.

"Tell me, Tai, are you familiar with the concept of 'low-profile?'"

"Sorry Davis."

"Don't be sorry. Move your car. If its still there in an hour, I'm throwing a frag grenade through the window."

He stalked past them, and walked up the stairs to his office. It overlooked the central computer table, an interactive display that currently showed a holographic map of Odaiba. Demi-Veemon hopped on his shoulder as he sat down.

"You're pissed off."

"You noticed. The trails dead, Vee. We needed that rifle. And we're on the back foot with just a handful of goddamn casings to help us."

"Maybe more than that." Kari and Tai walked in through the door. Davis decided that he was over being surprised by the fact that Kari was heading his forensics team and decided just to be grateful instead.

"Tell me we have something."

Tai slumped down into the chair opposite Davis, while his sister perched on the edge of his desk. The detective grinned wanly.

"Sorry about the car."

"Sorry for snapping. Been a long morning."

"Okay boys, two things that sprang out about our unfortunate sniper. Firstly, he'd been gutted with a very sharp knife, but initial analysis of the wounds show it had a serrated rear edge with a smooth cutting blade."

"A combat knife?"

"Or something similar. We'll be able to give you something more conclusive once my teams finished with the body. But we also found something else. Do you want to tell him Tai?"

"Oh, you should Kari. You found it."

"Someone better tell me, or I'm gonna shoot myself." Davis growled.

"The shooter had a cell phone." Tai said.

"And?"

"Well, with a little creative technology, we'll be able to recover the messages and numbers to and from. And maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to narrow those down to whoever hired him." Kari replied.

"We're sure someone hired him?" Demi-Veemon asked.

"Kamichi was a merc. Strictly a cash-only operator, but as you saw on the rooftop, he was a hell of a shot."

"He was indeed. Alright, follow it up and get back to me if it turns up anything useful."

In the main hub, a siren suddenly sounded. Davis sprang to his feet.

"Whats that?" Kari asked.

"That's an alert. Something big is going down. And I've got a feeling all this is connected."

He walked through the door, and started down the stairs.

"CSIT team, suit up! Standard Assault/Rifle combo. Move out!"

* * *

(A/N)

It's baaaaaack! Yes, once again my writers block is kicking me up the arse, so I' m using fanfiction to get my motor ticking. More will follow. Soon.


	6. Chapter 6

"Get down on the fucking ground! Do it!"

A short burst of machinegun fire perforated the afternoon air, filling the store with the smell of cordite. The shoppers threw themselves to the ground, their bags flying in all directions as they tried to make themselves as small as possible. The three men standing in the stores entrance fired bursts from the AK47s held at their hips, and watched the chaos unfurl before them.

"Field, move!"

The man covering the door moved swiftly forward, and pulled down the protective grill, cutting off the exit.

"Stream, back door, now!"

"Got it, Mountain."

Stream ran towards the back of the shop, hopped to till desk, and ran through the back room towards the door, slamming it shut and activating the security lock. No-one was getting out or in unless the gunmen deemed.

Ten minutes ago, this had been a small but popular boutique, just down the road from Odaiba's Aqua City shopping centre. It's prime location made it's owners wealthy, and that wealth had allowed them to buy the best security system that money could buy.

However, that security system meant precisely jack shit when three men in long coats had walked into the store in the middle of the day, pulled AK-47 assault rifled from under their coats, and started screaming at people to get down. If anything those security systems were now working against the owner's prized investment as the three men used them to create a barricade around their new location, locking themselves inside with twenty scared people and a ton of bullet.

"Stream, Field, are we secure?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Time to let the world know we're here."

* * *

"Okay, reports are coming through the tube." Veemon said from the van's radio seat.

"What's the situation?" Davis asked.

"According to the CCTV feeds, we have three tango's, carrying seven-six-twos and possibly handguns. They walked into "Veronica's" about an hour ago, and closed up shop while firing bursts into the ceiling. Uniforms were on the scene ten minutes after the silent alarm was pressed."

Davis nodded, and turned to the CSIT Team.

"Okay guys, Tai's gone ahead to act as the SOCO on this one. I have a strong suspicion that this is tied into our little pre-show at the bank the other day. The fact that we've had two attacks in such quick succession in a relatively quiet area makes me very suspicious."

He grinned nastily.

"Nevertheless, we need to treat this like any other operation. I've had the message through, and should it come to it, force is authorised."

"You enjoy that concept far too much." Jensen said.

"I do, don't I? Okay, we're going with a three man assault. Heavy vests and hard tops – you heard Veemon, these guys are packing the heavy gear. Suzuwara, you're on sniper again."

"Aw man, I never get to have any fun."

"That's what you get for training as a sniper. ETA in three minutes."

* * *

Tai watched from the shelter of one of the police cars as Davis stepped from the van. The CSIT leader slung his MP5 by his side, and walked over to his friend, crouching behind the car.

"Okay Tai, whats the situation?"

"Veemon didn't tell you?"

"He gave me the brief. From you, I need specifics." He turned and yelled at the van. "Suzuwara! Get set up!"

The Japanese sniper nodded, and moved swiftly to a doorway opposite the boutique.

"Will he be able to get a good view from there?"

"Good enough. If it comes down to it, I'll pull him out and add him to the assault team. Stop stalling Tai, who are these guys?"

The detective grinned.

"No getting anything past you. They call themselves the 'Son's of Fuji.' Warped bunch of motherfuckers, frankly."

Davis cast his mind back over his training.

"Son's of Fuji… Aren't they an environmental group? Guys who decided that since Shinto meant that every rock and tree has a spirit, that they were destined to protect those spirits by any means necessary?"

"Along those lines, yeah. They believe that the Kami has been soiled by mans presence, and that they are a cleansing force. Last we heard, it's prime members had been rounded up for dropping a Pesticide bomb into the Utushinai drinking water. Got them just in time on that one."

"Guess we missed a few though."

"Hmm. The three guys inside had identified themselves as "Field, Mountain and Stream." I'm guessing those are codenames, oddly enough."

"Yeah. Suzuwara, any movement?"

"Not yet. Seeing some shadows on the second floor."

Davis glanced over the top of the Nissan Crew, and looked up the second floor. The windows were dark, but he thought he could see hints of movement inside. He ducked back down, and glanced across at his friend.

"Okay, we're gonna get set up and kitted to go. Have they made any demands yet?"

"Just some nonsensical ramblings about leaving Odaiba to be reclaimed by nature. Seems they aren't to happy about the whole reclaimed island thing."

"And it's only been here since the 1850s. Okay, I think we're just gonna have to prepare for a standard assault here." He thumbed his radio. "Veemon? Can you scan the airwaves to see if that pulse you caught last time reappears?"

"_Got it._"

"Okay, CSIT team, get suited and booted. I want…"

"_Shit, Davis! Rifle at the Window, rifle at the window!_"

Suzuwara's voice leapt through the circuit. And Davis reacted, draggin Tain to the floor as one of the terrorists fired from the second floor, raking the police car with automatic fire. The gunman quickly emptied his magazine, and withdrew before the CSIT sniper could get a bead on him. The two digidestined got shakily to their feet, and stared at the bullet holes in the car.

"Okay." Davis said. "I'd say negotiations are over. CSIT team, suit up. We're doing this assault before someone gets killed."

* * *

(A/N) I'm baaaaaaack!

Yeah, I got bored and decided to get back into fanfiction on a more regular basis. Not much going on in this chapter, but trust me, there are ideas booming here. I'll try and get another chapter up sometime later in the week.

Oh, and if you don't read my reviews, heres a delightful little gem from a (anonymous) reviewer who goes by the name of "TakariFreek101".

_"Daikari is gay, you are gay, go write Takari because Davis sucks and Kari hates him, so does TK make this a Takari and PataGato now or die!_"

What a delightfully imaginative flame! Calling me Gay! That's a completely new one that I've never heard over Xbox live before, you short-swinging bell-end! Stop repressing your own feelings of homosexuality and grow enough of a pair to

A) Stop insulting people anonymously.

B) Stop getting overly serious over a cartoon series, cockbite.

-Ben


	7. Chapter 7

Davis watched the three-dimensional diagram of the boutique building rotate slowly on the screen, studying it for weaknesses. Aside from the occasional burst of automatic fire from across the street, warning the police from getting closer, they were no closer to getting into the building and rescuing the hostages.

"Davis, I don't see how we can do this and still have distant cover. We're going to need at least two teams for this assault." Jensen said.

"Damn. I really wanted the sniper cover on this one." Davis muttered.

"Why do you need snipers? There's only three of them." Tai said.

"Three of them, with AK-47s, Tai. Personally, I'm not a fan of hostages getting sprayed with bullets. Kari, what have you found out about these guys?"

On the interlink, Kari looked up from her computer, directly into the webcam. Her habit of doing that unnerved Davis – it was like she was staring straight into his soul.

"No ID's I'm afraid, Davis. Seems these guys have been living under the radar for quite some time."

"Oh well. I guess we'll have to make do. Veemon, set up the comm rigs. We're gonna have to go with a standard breach, top and bottom." He slung his MP5 round to a more comfortable position, and grimaced. "Suzuwara, you and Reynolds take the windows, Jensen and I will take the doors. Breach and flash. If possible, take these guys alive, but the safety of the hostages comes first. Clear?"

The three nodded, and went to get their gear together. Tai appraised his friend as Davis returned to studying the Computer screen.

"You okay?"

"I've got a bad feeling about this, Tai. Something bigger is going on, and I can't figure out what."

"Well, that's what I'm here for. You just concentrate on rescuing those hostages."

"Heh. It's what I do."

* * *

Davis crouched at the end of the alley, his MP5 held ready, and pulled a flashbang grenade from his webbing.. In front of him, Jensen readied a small explosive charge. Davis toggled the radio at his waist, and transmitted through the headset.

"Veemon, do you read?"

"Loud and clear."

"How long till go time?"

"Thirty seconds till power to the store is cut."

Thirty seconds. Davis hated this part. In thirty seconds, he would spring into action like a well oiled machine, but for now, all he could do was think about what could go wrong when the blasted open the back door of the boutique. Inside, Stream, Field and Mountain would inevitably panic when the strip lighting in the ceiling went out. In the seconds between that happening, and the door opening, anything could happen. Three men with AK-47s could do a lot of damage in a very short time.

Davis's head spun with the implications of what would happen if he fucked this up.

"Fifteen seconds."

"Ready?" he said.

"Lock and Load." Jensen replied.

"Five."

Gun set to three round burst.

"Four."

Flashbang at the ready.

"Three."

No More time to think.

"Two."

Committed to action.

"One."

Time to go.

"Power off, weapons free, Go Go Go!" Veemon shouted.

Davis saw the light above the door go off. The two operatives sprinted down the alley. Jensen slapped the explosive pack on the handle, and pressed the timer, dodging away as Davis crouched on the far side of the door.

The charge blasted the doorhandle through, and the door open like an eggshell, swinging it inwards into the now darkened door. Davis heard confused voices speaking, worriedly, and threw the flashbang into the building. The grenade exploded amongst the overly expensive clothing, dazzling the two armed men standing with their rifles held low.

Davis moved in, his SMG swinging up. He sighted on the left hand side man, and pulled the trigger. The gun fired, a quick _pop-pop-pop_ of nine-millimetre rounds leaving an MP5s barrel at four-hundred metres per second.

And the edge of his perception, he was aware of the sound of breaking class from upstairs, and the further sound of muffled popping. His vision, however, was filled with the sight of a spattering of grey mist bursting from the far side of his targets head. The man dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes, his rifle falling from suddenly nerveless hands. Davis swung his weapon searching for a new target, and saw the third gunman already on the floor, clutching his arm. Screaming in agony.

Jensen moved in, and kicked the man's AK away, He glanced at Davis, his MP5 pointed at the centre of Mountain's forehead. Davis shook his head. The Terrorist got to live today. The Digidestined toggled his radio.

"Boutique clear."

"Upstairs clear."

"Weapons secured. Checking for traps. Someone shut him up."

Jensen nodded, and kicked the gunman in the face. He stopped screaming immediately. Davis moved towards the front door, and scanned it for traps before raising the securing gate.

"No traps. Send in the clean-up crew."

Uniforms flooded into the building. The medics came first, clearing out the hostages, and putting the injured gunman onto a stretcher, With Tai and his uniformed officers following afterwards.. The lead medic gave Davis a reprimanding look as he saw the bootmark on the mans jaw. Davis just shrugged, and grinned.

"Let me know when he's ready to talk."

"Will do."

Davis turned, and stared down at the body of the man he's shot. Tai glanced at his friend.

"Kari and the Forensics team are in transit. You okay?"

"Yeah." Davis safed his gun, and slung it across his back. "It's what I do, remember?"

He turned, and walked out of the building.

"CSIT team, RTB for debrief."

* * *

(A/N)

Told you I was gonna do another chapter this week. Bet you never expected that!

Anyways, since I was kinda drunk by the time I posted the last chapter, I'm gonna answer a couple of questions: First the delay in the story came because I had a really fucking shitty year last year. Nuff Said.

Secondly, to answer reviewer "best is daikari"'s question, Gatomon and Agumon's status will be addressed in due time. You're gonna have to trust me on this one. I'm not pretending the don't exist.


	8. Chapter 8

Kari returned to the CSIT headquarters after she finished with the crime scene. The cleanup had been one of her easier ones – blood samples were easier to collect from the clean surfaces of the store than scooped out from carpet, and the strike teams efficiency had led to very few cartridges needing to be picked up. Other than that, it was all bagging and tagging.

She pulled the micra into her designated space, and stepped out into the cool evening air. She never felt quite clean after a CSI – she always felt like there were still fragments of bone and hair under her nails and on her hands. All she wanted to do was go home and get into a shower, but that would have to wait until she had debriefed her new commander.

That still felt odd to Kari. In the five years since she'd seen Davis it was almost inevitable that he'd changed, but she'd never expected to see him again and meet a man who could put three rounds of 9mm ammunition through a man's head with brutal efficiency.

She hadn't seen him at the crime scene. The strike team had returned to base before she'd got there, but Tai had told her that Davis hadn't quite been himself when he'd left. She'd wanted to check in on him, but work came first.

Gatomon stirred on the passenger seat, and sinuously uncurled herself, before hopping out of the car to join her partner.

"So, Kari, what was the cause of death?"

She glared at the cat-digimon and swiped her card across the entrance reader, unlocked the door.

"I mean, I'm sure that forensics course you did was put to great use determining how that terrorist died from three bullets in the skull."

"Gatomon, shut up please. I've had a very long day."

"Yeah, it's probably gonna get longer too. I'm gonna head to the lab."

"Okay. See you soon. Get the samples stored away, and everything shut down, will you? There's nothing we're gonna find today that can't be left till the morning."

"Will do."

She scampered off in the directions of the forensics lab, and Kari stopped to hang her jacket up on the door, before stepping into the main hub of the building. At this time of night, the hub was quiet. A few monitoring techs were dotted here and there, watching the bandwaves for events that required the attention of Davis's team. A flatscreen in the corner quietly played the news report on the operation at the boutique. The news reporter was speculating on the actual identities of the three terrorists, well bemoaning the fact that as of yet no further information had been released from the ongoing investigation. Kari shook her head in disgust, and poured herself a cup of coffee from the urn, before heading for the stairs.

* * *

Davis was staring out of the window when she entered his office, his feet propped up on the windowsill. A half empty coffee mug sat at his side, it's contents cold and forgotten. Kari stopped for a second to admire the view over the city. Odaiba's lights shone their orange reflection into the night sky, obscuring the stars. She could hear the distant rumble of traffic over the Rainbow bridge and watched as a ship began it's docking process into the bay. In the distance, amidst the orange, she could see the piercing white glow of the digi-gate, the only permanent connection to the digital world. It was enshrined at the end of Highton View terrace, where it could allow a constant flow of data and digidestined between the Digiworld and Earth.

"You been back there any time recently?" she asked.

If Davis was surprised by her being there, he didn't show it.

"When exactly would I have the time?"

"Well, you're the boss now. I'm sure you could give yourself the day off."

"I'm sure the superintendent would disagree with you. How was the crime scene?"

"Very tidy. You and the guys do neat work."

"huh. Something about it has to be neat, I suppose."

She frowned at this tone, and pulled one of the chairs up. He turned away from the window, fixing tired brown eyes on her."

"Any ID on our other two boys?"

"Not yet. We haven't had a chance to check anything but local database though. We're cross-referencing with the different prefecture forces, but it'll take them time to get back to us. No DNA Matches on file yet either, so we'll have to send them away to the central database."

"Fair enough. Who got who?"

"You haven't watched the camera feeds back?"

Each of the CSIT troopers had a small camera fixed to the front of their eyepiece, giving a constant stream back to the hub. Combined with the data mapping and ballistics technology at their disposal, the team could call up a digital recreation of their battlefield at any time. Despite access to this, Davis shook his head.

"I never watch them. I don't like doing it at the time. Re-living it has never held much appeal."

She shrugged, and pulled her palmtop out.

"You and Jensen breached the bottom floor at 16:17pm precisely, and proceeded to utilise a flashbang grenade. At 16:17:45, Suzuwara and Reynolds breached the first floor window, and engaged the man within, codenamed Tango-3. At 16:17:47, Suzuwara fired a three round burst, which hit Tango-3 centre mass in the upper chest. Half a second later, Reynolds fired his own burst. A single round entered Tango-3's skull just above the left ear, and destroyed the brain. The other two rounds are accounted for and retrieved per procedure.

"At 16:17:30, you and Jensen entered the main Boutique area, where the two other men, Tango-1 and Tango-2 were waiting. At 16:17:33, you fired a three round burst that entered Tango-2's skull through the right eye, causing instant death. One round exited through the back of the skull, and has again been retrieved. At the same time, Jensen fired. Tango-1 was turning towards the hostages, and the rounds took him in the right arm, with two rounds embedding in the Ulna and the third shattering the Humerus. Jensen then proceeded to disarm Tango-1 and proceed with arrest."

She looked up from the palmtop as she completed the report. Davis's eyes were closed as he leaned back in his chair.

"You okay?"

"Hmm? Yeah, sure. Just tired."

"You look wiped out, Davis."

"Yeah, well, killing people has that effect on you."

She didn't really have a response for that. They sat in uncomfortable silence for a few seconds, until Davis abruptly stood.

"Well, I'd better get home. Nothing more to be done here this evening – I'll debrief the Super in the morning."

"I'll drive you."

"I'm fine."

"I'm sure you are. But you look bone tired, and the superintendent would have my ass if I let his CSIT commander crash into a wall because he fell asleep at the wheel. Go grab Veemon, and I'll get you guys home."

"I take it you're not gonna be argued with?"

"Not this time."

"…Fine. Lemme go check out my sidearm."

"I'll go get Gatomon. I'm sure she'll be thrilled to see Veemon again."

"I'm sure someone has to be. See you downstairs."

She nodded, and quietly left the room. Davis turned and looked out of the window once more. The Aura from the digi-gate glowed and flared, reminding him of a simpler time.

* * *

"Thanks for doing this, Kari. Really."

"It's no problem Davis."

The micra zipped nimbly down the roads towards central Odaiba, and Davis's apartment. When he had settled into the car's seat, Davis had been forced to concede that he was far too tired to drive. The fact that his eyelids were feeling heavy even as they drove was testament to the exhaustion that threatened to overwhelm him. In the backseat, Veemon and Gatomon were chatting quietly.

"So, how did you get into forensics? I thought you wanted to be a journalist?"

"I did. But there weren't many permanent jobs going in Journalism, and I don't have the mentality to freelance, so I decided to try something different."

"And TK didn't?"

"TK decided he had much better things to do than hang around working on Local papers in Odaiba. I can't begrudge him that. Telling me he loved me, then drunkenly fucking a girl on his degree course, that I can begrudge, but not taking a job overseas."

"Ouch."

"Yeah. Glad I decided to put off getting together until after University. If he'd actually cheated on me, he wouldn't be breathing."

Davis grinned wryly.

"I can believe it. Kinda shitty of him to do it."

"Hell, he didn't owe me anything. I just wished he'd been a bit more honest with me – and with himself. Everyone kind of expected us to be together. Hell, even I did. University gave me time to clear my head."

"Still…."

"Bored now. Change of subject. How about you? Any special ladies?"

"No. Had a thing with a girl a couple of years ago, but she didn't really like the fact I shot people for a living. Great in bed though."

"You're disgusting."

"Nah. Just simplistic. We weren't right for each other. She wanted a stable family life."

"And you weren't wiling to leave CSIT?"

"I was willing, but she wasn't willing to compromise. This isn't the kind of job where you can just walk away, and she didn't get that. Nice girl though. I see her around occasionally. The Cold glares warm my soul."

She laughed, and followed the Satnav's directions onto his road.

"Wow, nice area."

"I need somewhere nice to come home to. Have you eaten yet?"

"No."

"Do you want to? I could use the company."

"Not tonight. I need to get home and have a shower. Soon, though?"

"Sure. See you tomorrow."

He opened the door, and stepped into the cool night air. Veemon hopped over the seat, thanking Kari as he went.

"Davis?"

"Yeah?"

"Take care of yourself, okay?"

"Who, me? Don't be silly. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

She laughed, and he closed the door, allowing her to drive away.

* * *

The Maestro was fairly satisfied with the way things had gone that day. Certainly it was inconvenient for one of the Sons of Fuji to have survived, but the man didn't know enough to be of any threat. At worst, he could count on him confirming CSIT's suspicions that there was someone pulling the strings. If anything, that would aid his plan.

He took a sip from his wineglass, savouring the taste. The laptop screen glowed, showing a map of the Odaiba area. A network of six pinpricks glowed at various locations around the map. Two of them blinked. The plan was well underway.

He pulled up the page for the International Shipwrecks Society, and searched for the latest coastal surveys. He found the link he was searching for, and clicked it. A picture of a ship spung into three-dimensional life on the screen. The _SS Tokaishi Maru_. The Maestro looked at the ship, and grinned. Yes, soon, his plans would take a much firmer shape.

* * *

(A/N) Well, that was a bit of a longer chapter. I decided to go with a bit more character development and backstory for this chapter, and hopefully it fleshes out the Backgrounds for Kari and Davis for you a bit for this version of their lives. I tried to add a few tantalising hints for the future of this story though. The _Tokaishi Maru_ isn't a real ship, but as it's role becomes clearer, I'll give you more information on the basis for it's existence. Similarly, the Permanent Odaiba digigate is a plot device, but one I feel makes sense in the digimon world we saw at the end of the second series, where digimon have a wider place in the world.

Anyways, I'll get another chapter up relatively soon. I'm working on critical situation alongside my actual novel and only after, y'know work.

-Ben


	9. Chapter 9

Davis woke late the next morning, and swore profusely at the alarm clock that had failed to get him up on time. The exhaustion he'd felt after the operation at the boutique had mostly dissipated, leaving only a vague sense of disquiet. When he closed his eyes, all he could see was a flash, a ring-shaped optical sight, and a short spray of reddish-grey mist.

"Goddammit…"

He stood from the bed, and stretched, before heading through to the lounge. From his own room, he heard Veemon stirring. He opened the closed door to the lounge, and immediately smelt the hot coppery tang of blood. On the coffee table sat a human head, it's eyes staring at the door.

"Holy shit!" Davis dove back into his bedroom, and pulled his Glock from the bedside table. He flicked the safety off, and stepped back into the corridor.

"Veemon! Get out here!"

The Digimon slid open his rooms door, to see the unusual sight of his partner pointing his gun at the Lounge door, dressed only in his underwear.

"Davis… What's going on?"

"Someone's been in here."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah."

He held the gun levelled, stepped forwards, and kicked open the lounge door. The smell of rotting flesh filled the hallway. Veemon gagged, retching into the corner. The blood smeared the coffee table, dripping off the edge, falling to the carpet. Davis tried desperately to file away the disgust and nausea in the unemotional policeman's part of his minds. He stepped into the lounge, sweeping the room through the sights of his gun. The front door was securely closed. Same for the windows. He heard a noise, and spun, his gun training on Veemon briefly. The little digimon cocked an eyebrow at him.

"We need to call base. We need to get the forensics team here."

Davis nodded, not trusting himself to do anything else.

* * *

"I have to say, Davis, I'm not a big fan of your taste in decorations." Tai said, flatly.

"You're not funny."

"I mean, decapitated heads are so last year. It's all about gutted snipers this season."

"You're _really_ not funny. Any ID on this guy?"

"Yeah. And you're really not gonna like it. He's our third man."

"What?"

"He's the guy who was upstairs at the boutique. I got the call just before I came over – someone got into the morgue, and had themselves a little fun."

"Fuck me… what about the cameras? Surely they picked up something."

"Not a damn thing. The morgue uses those new hard-disk cams. Someone trashed each one after they were done with their artistic endeavours. All the harddrives had a magnet taken to them. We've got people trying to recover them, but we aren't hopeful."

Kari stood gingerly from by the table, where she'd been carefully documenting the scene, and picked her way across the lounge.

"So, are you ready to give up your new lounge fixture?"

"Neither of you are funny. Any chance this is gonna get cleaned up soon?"

"We're working on it."

"Do that. I'm going to work. Stuff to do."

He slipped his Glock into it's holster, and headed for the door.

* * *

His office felt refreshingly cool after the heat of everyone in the apartment. Davis sat down behind his desk, and stared at the computer screen, unseeing. Only then did he begin to shake. It started with his hands, uncontrollable tremors that ran up his arms as the mixture of adrenaline and shock began to take hold.

"Davis? Are you okay?"

Kari. She stood at the door, watching him, her eyes wide as he sat there, eyes unfocussed, shivering like it was minus 10 in the air-conditioned office. He didn't say a word as she came in, and sat next to him, placing one arm around his shoulders.

"Davis? C'mon. You're okay."

"I'm not fucking okay. They got into my fucking apartment, Kari. Right into my goddamn apartment."

"I know. Pull yourself together, Davis."

He bowed forward suddenly, his head hitting the desk. She felt one deep breath shudder through him, and then the shaking began to subside. He raised his head slowly, staring bleary-eyed at the reflection in the computer.

"All I keep thinking is how easy it would have been for it to be my head on that table. I was less than ten yards away, and I never heard a thing."

"So we figure out who did this. You've still got one surviving terrorist to interrogate, remember?"

"Yeah. They're shipping him over here now."

"What about your apartment? Do you want to stay there?"

"Have you cleaned up?"

"My team are. They're going to have to dispose of the table."

"I can live with that."

He disengaged himself from her arm, and gave her a small smile.

"C'mon. Lets go speak to our boy."

* * *

"I have nothing to say to defilers of the Kami."

The man who referred to himself only as Mountain stared balefully at Davis across the table.

"Mr Mountain. You're looking at a very long time in prison already – Helping us with our investigation would do a lot of good towards helping with that."

"Fuck you. I'm already at the Kami's mercy. Your prisons cannot hold me. Their walls will crumble."

"CSIT has a lot of influence with the judicial system, Mr Mountain. I'm not interested in your motivations for attacking the boutique. What I am interested in is who put you up to it."

Davis spread a dossier on the desk.

"AK-47 assault rifles. A good, old fashioned piece of weaponry. There's enough of them floating around in surplus stock that they're pretty untraceable. A good weapon to use for a hostage situation. Powerful, compact. But here's the thing: Someone filed off the serial numbers for these guns."

"And?" Mountain said, suspiciously.

"Recently. Just before your little operation, I'd say."

"That's right. We wouldn't let you trace those guns back to other faithful servants of the Kami."

"Now, see, lying to me is a bad idea. You didn't know the first thing you were doing with those guns. You and your little buddies were waving them around like they were the biggest cock-extension in the world. No training, No skill, and just about enough knowledge to pull the trigger. Shit, your buddy still had the safety on. So there's no way in hell you're telling me you knew enough to make those guns untraceable. I bet you didn't even know they had serial numbers in the first place."

Davis stood, picked up his chair, and walked around the table to sit side on to Mountain. The Terrorist looked at him out of the corner of his eye, trying not to meet the operative's gaze.

"So, here's my conclusion. You are part of the Son's of Fuji. You've got that idiot fundamentalist smell about you. But you're not the all guns blazing terrorist you're trying to make out. You got hired to do this."

"I'm not…"

"Gonna speak to a defiler of the Kami. Sure. Give me a name. One name. What's that gonna hurt?"

"Fuck you, man. I'm not gonna tell you shit."

"See, that's a mistake right there. You're gonna tell me everything."

Davis leaned forward, and patted Mountain gently on his plaster-cast encased arm. The Terrorist flinched.

"You know why you're gonna tell me everything?"

The man glared at him, hatred in his eyes. Davis grinned, viciously.

"Because I'm having a really shitty day, Mountain. I know there's someone bigger behind yesterdays little soiree, because he left me a rather unpleasant message today. Your buddy Field's head on my coffee table, in fact. As you can imagine, I'm a little bit pissed off right now. So if you don't tell me the full details of who hired you, by the time I count to five, I'm gonna break your other fucking arm, and send you straight to fucking prison.

To Mountain's credit, he made it as far as three.

* * *

"So, here's what we know." Davis said.

The main players of the CSIT force were sat around the briefing room table. Davis stood in front of the main screen, his hand stretching towards vague outline of a human that designated a unknown male.

"The three jokers from the boutique yesterday are bit-part players. They got a call from some guy calling himself 'The Maestro.' This gentleman also claimed responsibility for arranging the bank job the other day, as well as the sniper on the far roof." He grinned. "Jensen, you may just have saved Mountain's life by only managing to shoot him in the arm, given how the Maestro has dealt with people who could snitch to us thus far..."

"I do my best to please."

"Sure you do. Anyway, Mountain was the one who dealt with Maestro directly. Our unknown agreed to supply the three with weaponry and a target that was guaranteed to attract the attention of authorities. Seems he encouraged them by saying he agreed with their cause, and wanted to see their views bought to the wider world. All three were apparently happy with being martyrs to the cause."

"Of course." Tai said wryly.

"Now, I'm pretty sure that none of us are buying into the idea of a mysterious benefactor to the cause, especially one with access to near-untraceable weaponry…"

"Near-untraceable?" Kari asked.

"We're checking a few contacts. We might be able to at least get to a middle man. But in the meantime, Veemon and Gatomon have been doing a little investigating of their own. Guys?"

Veemon nodded, and hopped up next to Gatomon on the table.

"Remember that pulse we registered over the cellphone network during the bank job? Well guess what. We got another one. My delightful feline friend here has a theory."

Gatomon smiled.

"Veemon caught the second pulse just as we pulled the plug on the boutique area for the assault mission. Now, he assumed that it was just some kind of signal being sent, but after the mission, I noticed we were getting a lot of interference on some secure data channels."

Veemon took up the explanation.

"We did a little digging around, and found that there's a new signal underlying the Odaiba area wireless network. The initial activation signal was sent via 3G bandwidths, probably from a pre-registered cellphone. But theres a whole string of new code floating around on the WiFi."

"So, we have to ask ourselves, what's the single biggest reason to be transmitting data in the Odaiba area while we're being distracted to deal with other events?" Gatomon added.

The cat digimon reached down, and tapped a key. On the screen, the imaged changed. Suzuwara whistled in disbelief.

"Yeah. We've checked all the coding, and this seems to be the only logical conclusion." Veemon added.

On the screen, in all it's glory, was a colour photograph of the Digiworld gate.

* * *

(A/N) Yeah, this chapter was meant to be up last night, but FFNets upload system was playing up, so apologies for lateness. It may not seem like it, but trust me, the plot IS moving forward bit by bit. R+R

-Ben


	10. Chapter 10

"That, is majorly bad news." Kari said.

"You know, I was thinking something like that myself." Davis replied. "So what we need to do is figure out exactly what this guy is planning to do with the digigate. Somehow, I don't think his intention is to use it as an MP3 hub."

They stared at him for a couple of seconds.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Clock's ticking."

The various officers around to table grinned at each other, and stood, heading for their different departments. Davis watched them go, then sat heavily back down onto his chair. He stared at the image of the digital gate, and shook his head. Whoever this mysterious Maestro was, he was planning for every contingency. He'd known that the bank would have demanded CSIT's presence, and he'd known that the boutique raid would have resulted in the rescue op. Both elements had been to cover his activities for whatever was going on with the digigate and it's unparalleled access to the digital worlds resources. He kicked back. Swinging his feet up onto the desk, and squinted at the picture, his mouth twisting into a scowl.

"IF the wind changes, you'll be stuck that way." Kari said. She walked into the briefing room, and tossed a pad of paper onto the desk. "Veemon asked me to give you that. It's a copy of the code those things are transmitting."

Davis picked up the pad, and looked at the sequence of letters and numbers.

"…and?"

"No idea. He says the codes incomplete. Any ideas?"

Davis sighed, and stood, pressing the power button to the laptop. The image of the digital gate faded to black, and the screen turned to a neutral, no-signal blue, silhouetting his figure.

"Not a damn one. If the codes incomplete, then presumably we won't know what it's going to do until it is complete."

"So, what? We sit and wait?"

"Nope. I'm going to the digigate to nosy around."

"I'll come with you."

He fixed her with a level stare.

"I don't need looking after, Investigator Kamiya."

She flinched slightly at the use of her rank, then straightened, glaring at him.

"I'm not going to look after you. I'm going because I'm a CSI specialist, and I might just be able to spot something before your ignorant ass does. This is my Job, _Captain_ Motomiya."

A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Well, just so long as we know where we stand. Five minutes. Out front. Move."

* * *

He was strapping himself into his jeep when Kari arrived, swinging up into the passenger seat and fixing her seatbelt in place.

"Where's Gatomon?" He asked.

"Going over the ballistics results for those AKs. Trying to match the bullets to know records."

He started the motor, and pulled the big car out of it's space.

"Any luck?"

"Not yet. That's the problem with these ex-soviet weapons. They've been floating around in places like Afghanistan for so long that theres barely any records in the first place. We'll keep trying."

"Good. If we can trace the guns to a seller, we might at least be able to get an ID."

"That's the thought. We're gonna try cross referencing with the guy who supplied the sniper as well. The guy who sold that rifle is legit, just an import/export collector. It was all above board."

"We'll ask him to visit us later. See if the AKs match any of his records."

They drove in silence, until they hit a long queue of traffic. Davis casually flipped the bird at the prime example of Tokyo's legendary traffic jams and let the engine idle. Kari stretched, and kicked back in her chair, planting one booted foot on the dashboard. He glared at her.

"Do you mind?"

"Not in the least. I'm comfy."

"Why is it that since you and your brother joined my team I seem to be surrounded by comedians?"

"Just our wonderful personalities, I guess. Mind if I throw my jacket on the back seat? It's warmer out here than I expected."

"Would you listen to me if I objected?"

"I'd listen. Then I'd do it anyway."

"Feel free then."

She grinned, and peeled off her coat, tossing it into the back seat, and revealing her white blouse. The traffic began to move again, and Davis put the car back into gear, joining the flow of cars towards the digigate.

* * *

The digigate's light was white and strong, even in the midst of the sunshine, as the two police officers stepped from the car. The border guards started towards them, their hands going to their sidearms in a threatening manner.

"Sir, this area is for authorised vehicles only. I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."

Davis had been adjusting his jacket, and turned to the guard, a look of incredulity on his face.

"Since when?"

"I beg your pardon, sir?"

"Since when has this area been restricted? The last I heard, traffic was open between the digital world and Odaiba?"

"The government felt that it was better to impose larger restrictions, in the light of recent events sir."

"Ah. So the bank job and the boutique have made people jumpy."

"Yes sir. So I'm going to have to ask you to leave…"

"'Fraid I can't do that officer."

"Sir, if you don't leave right now, I will place you under arrest."

Davis pulled a cigarette from his inside pocket, put it in his mouth, and lit it from a battered zippo.

"Sir, this is the last time I'm going to…"

Davis pulled out his ID flipped it towards the guard, not even looking at him.

"CSIT. As you can see, I'm fully within my jurisdiction being here."

The guard looked vaguely sick.

"Well? Back to you post then, officer."

"Yes sir. Thank you sir."

The guards turned, and stomped back to their small station. Kari shook her head.

"You're an asshole."

"No. He was an asshole. I'm a bastard. C'mon."

He walked towards the armoured hut that held the gate controls. The Digigate was maintained by a select group of scientists and technology specialists who resided permanently at the site. Davis swiped his ID badge across the scanner in the door, and it slid open, permitting them access. Inside the hut, a stairwell led down into a brightly lit control room.

"Hey, you're not meant to be in here… Davis? Kari?"

Davis grinned at the young man who'd turned to berate them.

"Afternoon, Izzy. How's things?"

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"What? No hug?"

Izzy rolled his eyes.

"Kari can have a hug. You can explain why you've turned up on my doorstep."

"I'll take you up on that." Kari grinned, stepping forward and embracing her old friend.

"Good to see you." He grinned at her. "Now, what do you want?"

* * *

Izzy glared at them from behind his desk, and tapped to tip of his pen lightly on the pad of paper showing the code.

"This is very bad, Davis."

"I got that when people started getting killed over it. What is it, Izzy?"

"This is a kill-code for the digigate. It's only partial, but with this, someone could instantly shut off the digital world from ours. Permanently."

"So, is it a virus?" Kari asked.

"Nothing that simplistic. It's using the digital worlds own base-coding to self destruct the portal. It'd simply blink out of existence. Complete separation."

"Is there anything you can do to stop it?" Davis asked.

"We'll try, but without the full code…"

"And when the full code does transmit, it'll be too late."

"Theres different fragments in the coding, Davis. Someone would have to manually input a keycode in order for it to activate. The complete code can transmit all it wants, but without that key, it won't do shit."

"So, best solution, find whoevers got that keycode and ruin their little plan. Thank's, Izzy. This is a great help."

"Yeah, well, try and stop whoever this is before they screw up my job, and I'll consider it favour repaid."

* * *

He escorted them back to their car, and looked in disgust at Davis's Jeep.

"Haven't you been promoted? Why can't you buy a decent car?"

"Shut up, Izzy."

"Seriously, this thing looks like it's been around since world war two."

"Why does every digidestined think they're a comedian? I'll see you around, man."

"Prodigious."

"That always sounded stupid. Please stop saying it."

"Fuck you. I'll catch you two later."

Davis grinned, and got into the jeep. Kari got into the passenger seat, and settled back.

"So, what's our next move?"

"We find who this is, and fuck them up."

* * *

They travelled back towards the CSIT base in companionable silence. Kari tapped away at the keys of her datapad, and Davis focussed on the road. They pulled up to the warehouse, and Davis reached into the backseat, grabbing Kari's jacket and passing it to her. His hand brushed lightly against hers as he handed the garment over. He stepped out of the jeep, walked round, and opened the door for her.

"Your destination, Ma'am."

"Thanks, Davis."

He grinned boyishly, and allowed her out, locking up the car behind him.

"Well, I'm gonna grab my stuff and head for home. I trust your teams finished up at my place."

"Yeah. Aside from the lack of a coffee table, you shouldn't even notice a difference."

"Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow."

She grinned, and walked into the building, heading for her office.

* * *

Despite what she'd said, he could tell the difference. From the instant he and Veemon had gotten home, he'd been able to tell the difference. He sat on the couch, staring at the spot where his coffee table used to be, and all he could see was a decapitated head staring back at him. In his minds eye, the head transformed into that of a young man in a city centre store, pinkish-grey mist erupting from the back of his skull.

He felt the vague twinge of panic in his chest, and stood, heading for the door. In his room, Veemon heard the front door slam, and stepped out into the hallway.

"Davis?"

Silence greeted him. The Digimon swore, and headed for the phone. He checked on call rota, saw who was available, and dialled Jensen's number swiftly.

"Jensen? It's Veemon. I think Davis is having one of those days. Yeah, he just left. I'm not sure where he's heading, but you know what he's like when he's in these moods." He listened for a second. "Okay, I'll wait here. Keep an eye on him when you find him, will you? Thanks."

He hung up, then scurried through to the lounge. He checked the rack of coats by the door, and breathed a sigh of relief. At least Davis had left his gun behind this time.

* * *

(A/N) Well, a slight hiatus of a couple of weeks there. I was on holiday and couldn't be arsed writing. If you're a fan of Izzy, I hope you appreciate his appearance. I wasn't going to include any other of the digidestined in this fic in any significant way, but I couldn't think of any other characters who would fit into that role. So, we get a cheeky little cameo from one of the other characters, and a bit more information on what's going to happen. Trust me, I'm very much playing the long game with this fic, so theres a while to go yet.

next chapter should be up soonish. It depends on the progress of my original story chapter during the week - if that goes well, I'll try and get chapter 11 up before the weekend, if not it'll be sometime over the weekend. If the canadian grand prix and the Le Mans 24 hours don't distract me.


	11. Chapter 11

"Where would he go?" Jensen asked Veemon as the pair slid into his car with the intention of hunting down their wayward commander. Despite Veemon's intention to wait, Jensen had insisted on picking the digimon up before they went out to search for his partner.

"All I can tell you is he wouldn't go to Liam's. He doesn't like people seeing him like this."

"Downtown?"

"Maybe. Lets just start looking for him – ideally before he gets too bad, and does something stupid."

"You said he didn't take his pistol with him this time?"

"Yeah. But I'm sure he'll find some other wonderful way to hurt himself if we don't find him. Lets get moving."

* * *

Davis, at that moment, was sinking shots in the seediest bar he could find. He'd told the barkeeper to leave the bottle. The whisky glinted and spread it's amber glow in the bars dim light, at the same time spreading it's fire through his stomach. The barman gave him a neutral grin, and sat in front of him.

"Drinking away some trouble."

"Something like that."

"Doesn't work, y'know."

"I'm paying for the booze, aren't I?"

"Yeah. But it isn't getting rid of trouble. Be careful. The big one carries a knife."

He turned, and walked to the other end of the bar. Davis glanced up at the grimy mirror, and saw two men glaring at him in it's stained reflection. He downed another shot.

"Can I help you boys?"

"You're in my seat."

He shrugged.

"You can have it if you want. I'll move."

"Not good enough. We don't like cops in here."

Davis followed the line of the man's eyes, and saw that his badge was still fixed to his belt.

"I'm not here for trouble, friend. I just want to drink in peace."

"Drink somewhere else."

Davis stood, and turned, to stare into the man's eyes. The man didn't like what he saw in those bloodshot brown pits, but stood his ground.

"Fuck off."

"What did you say, Pig?"

Davis slid the bottle of whisky down the bar.

"Look after that for me."

He turned back just as the man threw a punch.

* * *

Kari and Jun were wandering through the park, heading leisurely towards Liam's as the CSI officer tried to relieve some of the stress of the recent days.

"So, how is my little brother doing?"

"You mean you haven't heard from him?"

"He calls when he has the time. It's having the time that's the problem. You should know better than anyone what he has to put up with."

"Well, I'm up for a good night out. I need to get images of decapitated heads and crime scenes out of my minds."

"So that fetish club I had planned is out. Got it."

"You're disgusting."

"I know."

The pair carried on, heading for the pub. Kari had kept in regular contact with Jun, since the older woman was dating her brother, but it surprised her to here how little Davis had been in contact with his family since he'd joined CSIT.

He sidestepped the punch, and slammed a booted foot into the man's groin. His assailant began to fall, clutching at his balls as Davis raised a knee into his face, feeling his nose squash like plasticine. The second man drew the knife from his pocket, and Davis grinned viciously.

The big man made a clumsy lunge, and Davis grabbed his wrist, smashing it down on the bartop. The big thug brought his other arm round, cracking his elbow across Davis's face. The digidestined stumbled back and his burly assailant surged forward, swinging his fists wildly. Davis stepped back from a couple of punches, then dropped low underneath the mans arms. He grabbed the man around his knees, and lifted. The man flipped sideways, and Davis drove him down, slamming him through a table. He groaned.

Davis stepped forward, his mind clear, and kicked the man once in the side of the head. He slumped, unconscious.

Davis turned, and picked up the bottle from the end of the bar. He threw down a couple of notes, and glanced at the barkeeper.

"Happens all the time." The man grinned. Davis smiled, briefly, then walked out, taking the bottle of whiskey with him.

The park was quiet as the two women strolled through. Almost too quiet. Kari pulled her jacket around her and shivered in the cool night air. The two men stepped out of the shadows between the trees, one behind them, the other in front. Kari and Jun stopped dead in their tracks.

"Evening ladies. How are we today?" The man in front said.

"We're fine, and we're going." Jun said, stepping forward.

The man pulled a knife.

"Why so quick to leave, darling? The nights just getting started. We're up for a bit of fun, aren't we Sosuke?"

"That we are." The man behind him said, a vicious grin on his face.

"I'm a cop." Kari said. "You don't want to do this."

"Dead cops don't talk. I don't see the problem."

He walked up towards her, his knife held up. Kari could see his hand shaking.

"Look, just walk away."

"Shut the fuck up." He ran the flat of the blade down her face, and she kept very still, very still indeed.

"Now heres what's gonna happen. Me and my buddy, and you and your friend are going to go into those bushes there, and we're gonna have ourselves a little party. If you scream, I'll gut you like a fucking fish, you got that?"

"I've got an alternative suggestion." Came another voice.

* * *

Davis was still feeling angry after the brawl at the bar. The fight had done an appallingly good job of sobering him up, reminding him of the events of the last few days. Whenever he closed his eyes, he saw a decapitated head, a spray of red mist. He'd grabbed a second bottle of whisky from a liquor store, intending to get even deeper into a drunken stupor. It nestled in his pocket. The original bottle from the bar was held in his hand, and he swigged from it occasionally as he wandered.

He knew Veemon would be wondering where he was. He might even be looking for him.

He decided he didn't really give a shit.

He stumbled into the park, the world beginning to feel slightly hazy again, and stopped to relieve himself behind a tree.

He heard the voices before he realized what they were saying.

"…gonna have ourselves a little party. If you scream, I'll gut you like a fucking fish, you got that?"

He stepped from behind the tree, and saw some jackass holding a knife to a girls face. He slipped the half empty whisky bottle from his pocket, and stepped forward.

"I've got an alternative suggestion." He said, his voice grim. "How about you and your buddy walk away, and I won't kick the living shit out of the pair of you?"

The thug spun, and stared at Davis, his knife held low.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Someone who'll fucking end you if you don't leave right now."

The Thugs eyes narrowed.

"Sosuke? Kick this pissheads face off."

The big man behind the two girls – whose silhouettes in the dark parkland seemed awfully familiar – started walking towards Davis. Davis grinned, and took another slug from the whiskey bottle. Sosuke headed quickly for the policeman, cracking his knuckles, trying to look intimidating. Davis simply smirked. The big man growled, and started to run the last five yards.

Davis surged forward, and channelled all his long years of football trying, swinging his booted foot up square between Sosuke's legs. As the thug doubled over, Davis raised his knee into his face, knocking the man out cold. He stepped aside as Sosuke dropped to the floor.

"You want to go next, asswipe?"

The other thug held his knife low, and stepped towards Davis. The two girls backed off to safety. Davis calmly took another drink. Depressingly, the knifeman decided similar tactits to his buddy would magically work a second time round, and rushed at the CSIT operative. Davis decided he was bored of playing around. As the knifeman came within range, he shifted his grip on the whisky bottle, and brought it round in a massive arc.

The tinted glass shattered against the side of his assailants' head, and the knifeman spun, falling to the ground next to the unconscious Sosuke. Davis glanced, dispassionately, at the shattered bottle in his hand, then dropped it to the floor. The knifeman groaned.

Davis turned, and punted the man in the side of the skull. He didn't groan again. He pulled the second bottle out of his inside pocket, and slumped to the floor on the grassy verge of the path. He unscrewed the top, and necked straight from the bottle.

"Well, that was fun." He said to no-one in particular.

He glanced to the left, and saw the two women were standing there.

"You okay?" He asked.

Kari stepped forward into the light. Jun followed. Davis raised an eyebrow.

"Huh, didn't think I'd drunk enough to start hallucinating."

"You're not hallucinating, Davis."

He said nothing, merely lifted the bottle to his lips again. Kari sat down next to him.

"Did they hurt you at all?"

"Not really. How about you?"

"Nothing serious."

"Excellent. I'd hate to think I wasted a quarter-full bottle of whisky for nothing."

"And why do you have two bottles of whiskey in the first place?" His sister asked.

"Because he's determined to get off his face." Veemon said, as he and Jensen came from the darkness.

"Oh, are you shitting me? I've got to be hallucinating now."

"We tracked your phone, asshole." His digimon partner said. "I think we need to get you home."

"Why? I'm having a nice night out."

He slugged from the whisky, and got unsteadily to his feet.

"Davis, you've laid out two guys tonight."

"Four, actually."

"…and you're clearly getting off your face. This didn't work last time, and it's not gonna work last time. You're still gonna have to face it all in the morning."

Davis glared at the digimon.

"I don't need to listen to this. I'm gonna find another bar."

"Davis, Mate, you need to get home, get some sleep…" Jensen said.

"Fuck you too." He turned and started to walk. Jensen stepped forward, and gripped his arm.

Davis turned, swinging. Jensen grabbed his wrist and twisted, forcing his friend to drop the Whisky bottle to the soft grass. He let go, and Davis stepped back, his fists raised.

"What part of leave me alone don't you get?"

"You need to get home, Davis. Don't do this."

But Davis was already moving. He dropped low, shooting forward to try and grip behind Jensen's knees. Jensen dropped, sprawling over Davis, stopping him short, holding him still.

"Fuckin' quit it, Davis!"

But Davis was too far gone. With a bull-like raw, he moved upwards, gripping his friend round the race, and bowling him off his feet. Davis Sat astride Jensen's lower body, one of his colleagues legs trapped underneath him. He threw a short punch, that connected solidly with Jensen's cheek. The man underneath could only defend as Davis threw punches from the half-guard, pounding Jensen's face.

"Davis, enough!" Kari screamed.

The CSIT commander's fist halted in mid-air. He froze, staring at Jensen, as if seeing him for the first time.

"Oh, fuck." He said.

* * *

"What the hell is with him?" Kari asked Veemon. Davis was sat on the verge. Jensen sat next to him, talking quietly.

"After everything he's seen in the last two days, can you blame him for losing it?" The Digimon asked. "Davis doesn't really like killing people, you k now. He was trying to forget everything for a while."

"He's lost it, Veemon. He isn't fit to work like this. I've got to report…"

"Don't be stupid, Kari. There's no-one else to do it. He'll be fine by tomorrow."

"And what about the next time? Is he always gonna try and find his consolation at the bottom of a liquor bottle?" She shook her head. "This isn't right."

"He'll be fine."

"Do you actually believe that?"

"I have to. And so do you."

"He just beat the hell out of Jensen!"

"At least he didn't threaten to shoot himself this time." Veemon snapped.

Kari sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Goddammit… Lets get him home."

"Haven't you got a night out planned?"

"This is more important. I'm not letting someone I care about else drink themselves into doing something stupid."

* * *

Davis followed them meekly through the apartment door as Veemon led the group in Jensen and Jun stood behind him, Kari strode in front. She'd barely said a word to him since they'd got in the car. What she had done was glare at him as she tipped his bottle of whisky down the drain.

He slumped into his usual chair, and stared, unseeing, at the TV on the wall. Jun hugged him from behind, her arms creeping round his chest.

"You need to take better care of yourself, little brother. I'll see you later. Coming, Kari?"

"I'll hang around for a while longer. Grab myself a cab in a while."

"Okay. See you soon"

Jensen glanced at Kari, and nodded.

"Hold up, Jun. I'll give you a lift."

He followed after Davis's sister into the hallway, gently closing the door behind him. Kari sat down on the sofa, and glared at him.

"You really are a goddamned idiot."

Davis's eyes snapped up to hers. Then he looked away, ashamed.

"I Know."

"Didn't you think about talking to someone about all this? Didn't you think about talking to me?"

"I'm not a particularly talkative person anymore, Kari."

"No. You're just another asshole who drinks away their problems."

He felt anger rising inside his stomach, and fixed his eyes to her again.

"Are we talking about your issues or mine here?"

"What the hell do you mean by that?"

"I'm not TK, Kari."

She froze at that, a mixture of shock and disgust running across her face. He carried on.

"I never meant to hurt you. I'm sorry I didn't talk to you. To be honest, I thought I was fine until I get home tonight. Then I looked at the spot where my table used to be and all I could see was a decapitated head. I closed my eyes and all I could see was the back of the punk in the Boutiques head exploding. Y'know, when I joined the digidestined, all we seemed to do was save lives. Now, all I seem to do is be around death. All the goddamn time."

"Davis… you can't just drink it away."

"I know that, goddammit! All I wanted to do was take away the voices for a little while!"

He slumped forward, and buried his face in his hands, and for a moment, Kari saw the young boy she'd first met at the age of thirteen, confident, brash, strong, but ultimately vulnerable. She got up, and sat on the edge of his chair, throwing her arms around him. He cried into her shoulder for a couple of minutes. Then raised his face to look into her eyes.

Their faces were mere inches apart. Brown eyes stared into each other, searching for something neither knew. Davis was the first to turn away, sensing the time wasn't right.

"I… I need to get some sleep."

"I'll stay if you like." She said quietly.

"If you'd like. There's a spare room down the hall."

"Okay. I'd rather be here tomorrow. Make sure you're okay."

"Fine."

They stood together, and headed for the hallway, Davis switching off the lounge light as he went.

"The Bed's made – last on the left. Bathroom is the door just before."

"Thanks."

He stood before the door of his room, his hand on he handle.

"Kari… I…"

She smiled, and put a gentle finger to his lips.

"I'll see you in the morning, Davis."

He nodded, and watched her head to the spare room. He shook his head, and smiled, before entering his own bedroom, closing the door securely behind him. He undressed swiftly, then collapsed onto the bed. He barely had time to get under the covers before he was claimed by a dreamless sleep.

* * *

(A/N) So, not much plot development, but a bit of relationship/character building. I apologise for the wait - I was spectacularly ill last weekend so haven't been up to writing. Not that it was really worth waiting for, lol!

R+R!

-Ben


	12. Chapter 12

Kari woke to the smell of fresh Coffee. For a few seconds, confusion overcame her senses, until she remembered the disturbing events of the previous night. One of the things she'd never expected when Davis had become her CO was to see something other than the tousle-haired young man she remembered from the days of the digidestined.

It all seemed so long ago.

She swung her feet off the bed, and sat staring out of the window out over Odaiba. The sun shone brightly on the city for now, but off in the distance she could see storm clouds releasing rain over Japan. That seemed pretty appropriate.

She considered making a dash for the door, given that she was still dressed in her clubbing gear. She wasn't sure she could face Davis this morning, after what she'd seen last night. It seemed somehow false to try and pretend everything was normal after watching him come so close to self-destruction.

But Goddamn, that coffee smelt _good_. Giving into her overwhelming caffeine addiction, she sighed, and got to her feet. She gently opened the door, and peeked into the hallway.

"Clean towels in the bathroom." Davis shouted from the kitchen. "Don't worry, I'll save you some liquid crack."

She blinked.

"How the hell does he do that?"

* * *

A brief shower later, and Kari felt almost human. The steaming mug Davis handed her from behind the kitchen counter completed her ascendancy back to the peak of evolution. She looked at him over the rim of the cup.

"So."

"I'm fine."

"I didn't ask, Davis."

He fixed her with a glare. She smirked in response. Finally, he rolled his eyes, and smiled.

"So, doctor, what's your diagnosis?"

she set her cup gently on the counter, and sat on one of the barstools. She looked into his eyes, but couldn't see anything behind them. His smile was guarded, his body language neutral. She shrugged.

"You're pretty fucked up, Davis."

"This is not a new situation. Drink up, I'll buy you breakfast on the way to work."

* * *

He did her the favour of swinging by her apartment to allow her to get changed. As she disappeared into the building, he kicked back in his seat, and sipped at a bottle of water. His head felt like a kettle drum, and his mouth tasted like the worst demon in the world had taken a colossal shit in it. He sighed, and tried to wash the taste from his mouth, hoping that where mouthwash had failed, mineral water would do the trick.

He was suddenly very glad that he hadn't kissed Kari the previous night. Kissing the girl of your dreams with a mouth tasting of cheap scotch and cigarettes was hardly the way to impress her, even if you'd already done a damn fine job of making yourself look like an asshole already. He opened the passenger door and swung his legs out, reaching for his cigarettes as he went.

"Those things will kill ya." Veemon said from the back seat.

"Get fucked, Veemon."

"Ooh, still feeling irritable are we?"

"Only at you."

He lit up, inhaling the acrid smoke, and sighed deeply. She knew him too well, that was the problem. Or at least, she thought she did.

"Got one of those going spare?"

He turned, and tossed to pack to her. She expertly drew one from the carton, and lit up.

"I didn't know you indulged."

"Only when I'm stressed."

"Are you stressed right now?"

She fixed him with a look.

"Aren't you?"

"Not any more."

She stared at him. He shrugged, stubbed out his cigarette and got back into the Jeep. He turned to key in the ignition, unable to face the silent accusation in her eyes.

* * *

They walked into the CSIT headquarters side by side, pointedly ignoring th curious looks the technical team shot them. Davis raised his voice above the buzz of the building.

"CSIT team briefing, five minutes. Be ready."

Jensen, the side of his face swollen, was leaning back against the stairs up to Davis' office. The CSIT commander flinched as he walked up to his friend.

"That looks painful."

"It isn't. You still hit like a girl."

"We cool?"

Jensen looked his friend square in the eyes, and nodded. Davis patted him on the shoulder, and went up to his office. He froze in his tracks as the siren began to sound.

* * *

***Achievement unlocked - publish one chapter every goddamn year.***

More in the next couple of days.

-Ben


	13. Chapter 13

"So," Davis said through gritted teeth "You're asking us to go in and rescue your team?"

The JSDF colonel glared at him over the top of his glasses, and nodded once. A couple of hundred yards away, the admin building that was the CSIT teams target was under full lockdown. Metal shutters covered the windows, and the door was securely bolted.

"Mr Motomiya..."

"No, no, seriously, I have not problem with having to rescue the JSDF's own hostage rescue team, what I have a problem with is that you're asking us to rescue them from inside a building thats locked down like a fortress, but you're refusing to give us a goddamn floor plan."

the colonel drew himself up to his full height and stepped forward to Davis belatedly, he realised that the CSIT commander was a full inch taller than himself.

"The... The contents of that building are highly classified, Captain Motomiya..."

"Oh, its captain now, huh?"

"...And we simply cannot allow a civilian team to have access to those details."

"I'm not after details of what the building holds. I'm after a floor plan, so that I might have a chance of rescuing your men."

The colonel held Davis' eyes for a heartbeat, then looked away.

"I'll... I'll have to speak to headquarters."

"Do that. I'm happy to wait."

He turned, slinging his Mp5 over his shoulder, and walked to the mobile command centre. He stepped inside, and slammed the door behind him.

"That man is a fucking idiot."

"We're getting that impression, yes." Veemon said. Gatomon, sat beside him at the terminal grinned. Davis gave them a sour look, and sat on one of the couches.

"Any chance you too could look into their systems, see what they're doing here?"

"Look into their systems?"

"Hack them, Veemon."

"Well, say what you mean then. We'll see what we can do."

Kari grinned from across the bay.

"You're a bad influence, Davis."

"So they tell me."

The roof of the converted truck began to rattle as rain began to fall. Davis pulled a face.

"Something about this doesn't feel right – no-one should be stupid enough to attack a secure government facility. Do we have any footage of what happened?"

"Only from the external cameras. The truck they were driving just rolled right up to the security checkpoint, showed ID and went straight through. They backed the truck up to the cargo delivery entrance for the building and six tangos jumped out, all packing AK-47 assault rifles and body armour."

"Isn't that the same kind of rifle the son's of fuji were using?" Tai said.

"Don't read too much into that, just about anybody and his mum can pick up an AK for cheap these days." Jensen replied. "That's part of the appeal, they're widespread and difficult to trace."

"Dead end then?"

"If you wanna try and tract AK-47 dealers, its your time. I'll see you in a couple of hundred years or so."

"Suzuwara, anything?" Davis said into his microphone.

"Not a thing. This is a big building boss. I don't like the feel of it."

"Reynolds?"

"I concur, Davis. A four or three man team is gonna struggle to do this job."

"Suggestions?"

"You might want to put a call out for the reserve teams."

He looked up at Jensen and shrugged.

"Hell, its not like we've got anything better to do."

* * *

"Okay, so, we've got two new kids coming over in about ten minutes from the reserve platoon. I don't know how well they've been briefed, but it gives us some extra eyes to put on the building. Veemon's also got some interesting news."

The little blue digimon hopped down from the main termyinal, and crossed to the briefing table.

"Okay, so what we know is that whatever is in that building is highly classified, and that they aren't giving us access."

"This is not good news, Veemon." Tai said. "Davis and the guys can't make an attack without knowing whats inside."

"Oh, well done Tai. Your grasp of logic is stunning. I couldn't possibly have realised that on my own. Really."

"Okay, okay..."

"No, seriously, I couldn't possibly have figured out that we need to figure out whats inside. I was gonna send Davis in with a potato gun and two sticks of bubble gum instead of his Mp5 as well."

"I said Okay, Veemon!"

"Anyway before I was so rudely interrupted, I was going to say that, thankfully, the Japanese government has decided that centralisation is the way to go. When you look at that building across the way, there isn't a physical hard drive in the place. All their data is coming in through an external encrypted underground line. Now, Tai, don't you think it might just be a little bit likely that they might just have installed an access port nearby in case of having to do maintenance?"

"Don't beat me over the head with it, Veemon. Where would the port be?"

* * *

"I don't see why I have to get messy doing this." Kari complained.

"I figured it would be fun for you to get out of the office, see the sights." Davis replied, as he stood over the manhole cover.

"You're a crappy commander."

"Your're a crappy commander...?"

"Sir."

"That's better."

Kari pulled on the waterproof overalls as Davis put the crowbar into its slot on the cover. He pressed down, levering the cover up so that Jensen could pull it aside.

A foul smell wafted up. Kari gave them a sick look.

"You wanted to be more involved in ops, Kari." Davis reminded her.

"I hate you."

"I know."

She sat on the edge of the manhole, and clambered onto the ladder, before descending into the darkness.

"Oh, god, this is disgusting."

Veemon sat on the edge of the manhole, his radio headset over his ears.

"Yeah, she's in there now, Gatomon."

"I've found the panel!" Kari called.

"Okay, all you need to do is attach the interceptor cuff to the main line."

"Which one is the main line?"

"It'll be a larger cable, marked fibre-optic."

"Okay, got it. Attaching the cuff... I've got one green... two... holding steady at two greens. Veemon?"

"Okay, you're gonna have to tune the code link. You got your PDA on you?"

"Yeah?"

"Okay, use it to tune the cuff to the correct frequency. It's got military bands on it, so it should pick it up."

"...Right, thats three greens."

"Gatomon? Kari's reading three greens? Hows it at your end? ...any lag on the feed? Dropout? Are we getting cameras or just static images? Okay, thats cool. We're heading back now"

Kari was climbing out of the manhole, her waterproofs filthy and stained.

"Never ask me to do anything like that again."

"Duly noted. We've got a full transmission feed coming."

"Why did you need Kari to fix the cuff on, Veemon?" Jensen asked.

"I didn't. I just didn't fancy going in the sewer."

Kari stared at him in disbelief.

"You what?"

"You didn't expect me to go down there, did you? That dirt would take ages to clean out of my scales."

"You sent me down there, into that filth, for no reason?"

"I wouldn't say no reason. I feel fantastic."

Kari smiled sweetly, drew back her foot, and punted Veemon into the manhole.

* * *

"Davis, I'd like you to meet Hitori Tanaka and Daniel Rhodes. They've been seconded to us from Squad B."

Davis looked over the pair of recruits.

"Afternoon, gentlemen."

The pair snapped to attention "Good afternoon, sir!"

Davis gave Jensen a sour look. "Did you put them up to this?"

"Can't say I did. Why are you two saluting?"

The pair looked at each other, and slowly lowered their hands. Davis grinned slightly.

"We work informally around here, guys. Have you been briefed on the situation?"

"No sir, we've just been sent over."

"It's Davis, not sir. Jensen, can you bring them up to speed?"

"Will do."

"Davis?"

He turned, and glanced at Gatomon. The small cat-digimon was staring at her terminals screen in disbelief.

"What is it?" He strode over to the computers, and gazed at the screen. His eyes widened as the blueprints on the screen registered in his mind.

"Son of a bitch..."

* * *

(A/N)

THis chapter has been bought to you by the letter S, the number twelve and the colour fuck you.

I'll try and get more done soon, don't worry. I plan on making a drive at this story this year to get the writing motor running again. feel free to read and review.


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